# Worst President Ever **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 19, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598 "2002-04-19T23:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TOO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@TOO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TOO)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/1 "2002-04-19T23:25:39Z")
No, this isn’t about Bush. It’s not about Clinton either. Who is the worst president ever, and why? Please don’t use presidents from the last 20 years. I figure we need 20 years or so to evaluate a leader such as a president. Plus, this would turn into a flame war in seconds. I think that the worst president ever was James Buchanan. At a time when the country was nearing crisis, he screwed up badly and helped to cause the Civil War. But other than the few that everyone knows, presidents have tended to be either anonymous or forgettable, so you have a lot of choices. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/2 "2002-04-19T23:39:08Z")
James Buchanan was the first name to pop into my mind when I saw the thread title. The country was headed for disaster, and he did virtually nothing to stop it. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/3 "2002-04-19T23:48:23Z")
Buchanan’s a good choice. But you can’t have this discussion without mentioning Grant and Harding. Helloooooo corruption! ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/4 "2002-04-19T23:55:11Z")
My first thoughts were with Grant and Harding. We think there is corruption in politics today…whooo-wheee…kid’s play compared to these two. Buchanan was pretty bad, but it isn’t clear what he could’ve done exactly either. ---
**Author:** ![DPWhite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/5 "2002-04-20T00:01:01Z")
I’d go for Harding. Unlike Grant, he was personally involved in the corruption. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Maximino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@Mighty\_Maximino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Maximino)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/6 "2002-04-20T00:15:40Z")
Harding was pretty bad. I think there’s also a good case to be made that the worst president was in fact Nixon – depending on what you think of the severity of his crimes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Red\_Menace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@The\_Red\_Menace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Red_Menace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/7 "2002-04-20T00:22:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DPWhite \* > \*\*I’d go for Harding. Unlike Grant, he was personally involved in the corruption. \*\* Oh good ol’ Warren G.; Our worst and my favorite president: “I am not fit for this office and never should have been here.” “I am a man of limited talents from a small town. I don’t seem to grasp that I am president.” Furthermore the White House would have been better described as the Delta House during his tenure as well; random hangers-on passed out on the floor, prohibited whiskey, cigars, poker games all over the place… Throw in Teapot Dome and the stage is set for the most shameful of all the presidencies. I find the Harding presidency incredibly amusing, but I’m sure the people from that time have a different opinion. I’m not sure that you could make the case for Nixon. Nixon was corrupt, paranoid, and fairly inflammatory in some of his statements, but at least he was competent. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/8 "2002-04-20T00:47:45Z")
Poor, unregarded **Herbert Hoover**. So awful nobody remembers him. I’ll go out on a limb and say he was exactly the wrong president to have at a time of worldwide economic depression. If you want, you can pin Hoover on Harding, since he’s the one who brought the Vacuous Sucking One into the White House as Commerce Secretary. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/9 "2002-04-20T01:00:47Z")
You said not in the last 20 years, or so, but what the hell-Reagan, Nixon, and Harding. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/10 "2002-04-20T01:02:13Z")
OH, and if we’re only going on one incident, though he was one of our Founding Fathers, John Adams has to be mentioned, if only for the blatantly unConstitutional and disgusting Alien and Sedition Act. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/11 "2002-04-20T01:12:57Z")
You wanna talk Unconstitutional? How about the Louisianna Purchase! Ol’ Thomas Jefferson, who was just **sooooo** critical of people who didn’t follow the U.S. Constitution to the letter, turned around and bought a huge swath of land in the name of the Federal Government – a power clearly reserved for the States by the 10th Amendment! ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Barking\_Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Spider)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/12 "2002-04-20T01:18:51Z")
I’d say the worst president was Lincoln. It was under him that the Fed Gov went from being merely an “umbrella” government with certain delegated powers, responsible to its creator, the States, to seizing more power than had been delegated to it, and actually dictating to its creator, the States. In other words, Lincoln turned the Constitution upside down. Instead of the Fed Gov being subservient to its creator, the States, after Lincoln, the States were subservient to the Fed Gov, at least practically. but not Constitutionally. In second place would have to be FDR. He’s the guy that started a lot of this Federal welfare bullshit, such as Social Security. And he threatened the Supreme Court in order to pass many of his heretofore illegal schemes. And he also gave away half of Europe to Stalin at the Yalta conference. My third place worse Pres would have to be Johnson. He greatly expanded Federal welfare with his “Great Society” programs. He’s also the guy who signed Kennedy’s 1965 Immigration law which has had the affect of allowing tens of millions of third world people to immigrate into the US. Nixon? There’s no evidence that he even knew about the Watergate break-in. His great sin was covering it up. While he certainly was paranoid, at least he was competent on the job. My only gripe about Nixon was that he was such a liberal on domestic policy. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/13 "2002-04-20T01:39:50Z")
Barking Spider wrote: > [@](#): > > My third place worse Pres would have to be Johnson. […] He’s also the guy who signed Kennedy’s 1965 Immigration law which has had the affect of allowing tens of millions of third world people to immigrate into the US. But I thought you **liked** cheap labor! ---
**Author:** ![Razor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5e9695/32.png) [@Razor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razor)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/14 "2002-04-20T01:47:01Z")
Mmmmm This is ‘worst president from point of view of white American guy’, is it? I didn’t like Reagan. I didn’t like Bush I. I don’t like Bush II. Murdering war-mongers all. Oh but let’s not forget, to white American boys all that counts is the good, ole US economy… What about you Black Americans? And Native Americans? I bet you could say a thing or two. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Red\_Menace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@The\_Red\_Menace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Red_Menace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/15 "2002-04-20T01:49:04Z")
I’d also like to add another one to Barking Spider’s list: George Washington. This is the man that failed to recognize that the territory we now call the United States was in fact subservient to its creator, England. It’s too bad all the liberal historians rewrite history to make a terrorist like that sound like he was some kind of hero. Me: “Nixon was corrupt, paranoid, and fairly inflammatory in some of his statements, but at least he was competent.” Barking Spider: “While he certainly was paranoid, at least he was competent on the job.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Maximino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@Mighty\_Maximino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Maximino)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/16 "2002-04-20T01:57:36Z")
**Barking Spider** , I disagree with you on all three counts! I think that the three you mention have severe faults, but I actually even disagree with you on what the faults are, plus I think they did enough Good Things to disqualify them from the running of worst president _ever_. They’re on my Best Presidents list . . . but I guess this is a GD after all. I’d like to revoke my vote for Nixon and go solidly behind Harding. As far as worst ever goes, I’m not sure how many people really dispute him. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Barking\_Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Spider)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/17 "2002-04-20T02:06:53Z")
Red Menace, did you ever hear of such a thing as the American Revolution? Its when this country went from being several different colonies under the British Crown, to several different independent States. And did you know that the Constitution written by those independent States is still in effect? Just asking! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Red\_Menace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@The\_Red\_Menace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Red_Menace)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/18 "2002-04-20T02:12:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barking Spider \* > \*\*Red Menace, did you ever hear of such a thing as the American Revolution? Its when this country went from being several different colonies under the British Crown, to several different independent States. And did you know that the Constitution written by those independent States is still in effect? Just asking! \*\* I am thoroughly unfamiliar with all those events. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/19 "2002-04-20T02:13:48Z")
But, gee, Barking Spider, I don’t think that there was any provision for revolution amongst colonies in the Magna Carta or in other British law, so shouldn’t you be against that, too? Unless, of course, you’re a big ol’ hypocrite. But how could that be? ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Barking\_Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Spider)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598/20 "2002-04-20T02:16:48Z")
Also Red Menace, concerning my paraphrasing your take on Nixon: While its true that Nixon was paranoid, he was a very competent and able politician. A very popular one too, judging from his 1972 landslide election. Heres a guy who was vice president during the 1950s. He basicly ran the country while Ike spent all that time on the golf course. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-president-ever/104598.md?page=2)